In their spare time, some of the Olympic kiteboarders like to go paragliding. The kites are very similar in design, pretty much the same equipment except that you fly it over your head instead of off to one side when you’re kitesurfing.

Of course, being suspended beneath a kite and soaring like a bird comes with its own risks, as Monaco’s rider Alex Ehlen discovered to his cost last summer.

Just three days before the start of the Allianz Sailing World Championships in The Hague, Ehlen took some time out from last-minute preparations and went for a low-level paraglide in Scheveningen, but lost control and hit a sand dune with severe impact. He suffered damage to his L1 vertebra and the initial prognosis was not good. Missing out on competing at the 2023 Worlds was the least of his problems as Ehlen spent the next three months trying to recover from the worst of his injuries.

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A post shared by Alexander Ehlen (@alex_kite_para)

Bit by bit the Monegasque rider got better, and managed to start kiteboarding again by the end of the year. Having missed out on previous opportunities to qualify Monaco for Paris 2024, Ehlen has it all to do at the Last Chance Regatta in the South of France at the end of April. Weighing around 100kg, the gentle giant from a small country will need to be at his best to grab one of the five remaining nation’s spots.

The back injury could barely have come at a worse time, as Ehlen has missed a lot of training time over the past nine months while the rest of the fleet has been pushing forward and upping their speed and their skills. But he’s not short of determination. It also helps that he has made Hyères – the venue for the Last Chance Regatta – his training base for the past couple of years. “I live here, so I train a lot in these waters and I know the place really well,” he says. That level of local knowledge could prove critical.

Ehlen grew up as a catamaran sailor before he stumbled across kiteboarding in 2016. “It was actually a gap year of sorts for me. I had been sailing catamarans and didn’t have a teammate for one season. So I started kitesurfing, just for fun.”

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A post shared by Alexander Ehlen (@alex_kite_para)

The teenager was instantly hooked on this new discovery. “Two weeks after I started, I was already in my first kitesurfing competition. Of course, I finished in the last five, but it was a great experience.”

A year later Ehlen became fascinated by the idea of kitefoiling, actually flying above the water. “The trouble is foils are super expensive, so I decided to make my own,” smiles Ehlen. “I was also deeply interested in carbon constructions so this was an interesting project.”

Surely it would have been easier just to buy a proven foil, but Ehlen says he simply didn’t have the money. Despite Monaco being well known as the tax haven of the rich and famous, the same is not true of all residents of the principality. “It’s a typical cliché,” he says with a hint of irritation. People think when you are from Monaco, you must be rich, but that’s not true.”

In any case, this hands-on approach wasn’t just a way to save money; it was a learning curve that allowed him to understand his equipment at a fundamental level. “I had the opportunity to build the foil with a friend skilled in working with carbon. It was amazing, I learned a lot through that process. And the foil actually worked! But when [French rider] Maxime Nocher gave me his race foil to try out, it was so much easier to use than my own home-made foil, I couldn’t believe it!”

When Formula Kite was confirmed as a new Olympic discipline, Ehlen decided to aim full-tilt at Paris 2024. “I always wanted to compete at the Olympic Games since a young age,” he says. “When I was sailing the Nacra 15 catamaran I was thinking about maybe a Nacra 17, but it would have been hard to find a girl to race with from Monaco, as well as the cost of owning a boat. Then, with kiteboarding potentially being in the Olympics, it became a dream that’s finally within reach.”

If Ehlen does make it to Paris 2024, he’ll be one of very few athletes representing Monaco. “I think we have a woman qualified in the swimming, and in table tennis, and maybe in boxing. But there won’t be many of us there,” he says. “Qualifying for the Olympics would mean everything to me. It’s not just about competing; it’s about representing Monaco on a global stage.”

Support from home plays a crucial role in Ehlen’s motivation. From the Yacht Club de Monaco to the sailing federation and the wider community, even Prince Albert of Monaco, he feels a strong sense of support from back home. However, he’s quick to point out that his biggest fan is his mother. “She’s been there from the start, pushing me, supporting me. She’s my rock.”

Looking beyond Paris 2024, Ehlen already has his sights set on the 2028 Olympics. At just 22, he believes his best years are still ahead of him. “I’m looking forward to 2028. I may not look it because of my beard, but I’m still pretty young,” he laugh, referring to a recent mishap where his beard trimmer was stolen, forcing him to sport a more rugged look than usual.

As the ‘Last Chance’ Regatta draws near, Ehlen remains focused, determined, and ever optimistic about his chances of representing Monaco at the Olympic Regatta this summer.